Today’s scripture: Philippians 1:12-18 (NRSV) (The Message) (KJV) What might God be saying to me?
My thoughts (Vivian Wyatt):
I am always amazed at the heroic stories of people who, in spite of overwhelming odds, can still manage to do great things. Paul, who wrote today’s passage, was imprisoned many times and was actually killed while in prison in Rome. He wrote his greatest treatise on joy while in prison. In today’s passage he is saying that his being imprisoned has caused others to preach the gospel, and he didn’t care why they preached the gospel but only that the gospel was preached.
There have been others who have persevered when the odds were against them, and I am inspired by Jason Lester who was hit by a car when he was 12 years old and suffered, among many things, a paralyzed arm. Today, he can swim faster, ride further, and run incredible distances as an Ironman and Ultraman, and he does it all without the full use of his right arm. In 2009, he was named the ESPY award winner for “Best Male Athlete with a Disability” and the first male triathlete to win such an honor. In addition to numerous championships, he’s also the author of Running on Faith, the autobiography that chronicles his rise to fame and how his belief in God got him there. His relentless message is summed up well when he wrote, “If you don’t stop, you can’t be stopped.”
Thomas Alva Edison failed 1000 times before creating the light bulb. Although the exact number of tries has been debated, ranging from 1,000 to 10,000 attempts, it’s safe to say Edison tried and failed a whole lot before he successfully created his beacon of light. His response to his repeated failures: “I have not failed, I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
The message I’m receiving from Paul, Jason, and Thomas is that even in the midst of adversity, even when it seems that all hope is lost, we are to continue to push ourselves to not give up. So then we can say as Paul did in 2 Timothy 4:7: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
Thought for the day: In times of adversity, remember Winston Churchill and his advice to the young men at Harrows School: “Never give up!”
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the suggestions on the How to Pray page.